How penetration testing bolsters API security

Final yr, Gartner predicted that API assaults would turn out to be the most-frequent assault vector in 2022. Whereas it stays unclear whether or not that is the case, when contemplating that the exploitation of Twitter’s API vulnerability uncovered the info of 5.4 million customers, it’s clear they’re devastatingly efficient. 

In an try to assist safety groups deal with these threats, at the moment, cybersecurity startup Wib introduced the launch of what it claims is the business’s first API PenTesting-as-a-service (PTaaS), which is designed to check for software safety, API, and enterprise logic vulnerabilities. 

Wib lately introduced elevating $16 million in funding and allows customers to generate an entire stock of APIs, generate documentation, and improve visibility over the assault floor. 

On this occasion, penetration testing offers safety groups with a extra correct view of their group’s API safety posture to allow them to establish and mitigate potential entry factors earlier than cybercriminals can exploit them. 

Taking part in catchup with API safety 

The announcement comes as assaults on APIs proceed to extend, with analysis displaying that 94% of organizations have skilled safety issues in manufacturing APIs. 

To make issues worse, many safety groups are at the hours of darkness about how to reply to these threats, with 61% missing any API safety technique or having solely a fundamental plan. 

The reality is that many organizations are taking part in catchup with API safety after embracing cloud computing and microservices. 

“Most of those blind spots are uncovered as corporations embrace an API-first methodology and shift to a microservice-based structure, which adjustments their assault surfaces, however their defenses weren’t designed for this construction and haven’t but advanced to cowl it,” mentioned Chuck Herrin, CTO of Wib. “Adoption at all times outpaces safety, and this time is not any completely different. What’s completely different this time is that API visitors is already 91% of internet visitors, whereas most defenders are blind to APIs as an assault vector,” Herrin mentioned. 

By providing a purpose-built penetration testing service, Wib offers organizations with entry to the experience and applied sciences they should detect API-level threats. 

After every take a look at, safety groups obtain a full evaluation report of recognized vulnerabilities alongside a danger severity rating primarily based on NIST’s cyber matrix calculator and a remediation highway map plan with suggestions on the right way to mitigate vulnerabilities. 

Reviewing the API safety market 

Wib is only one of many suppliers within the world API safety market, which researchers valued at $783.9 million in 2021 and anticipate will attain a price of $984.1 million in 2022. 

The group is competing in opposition to a variety of rivals out there together with Salt Safety, which raised $140 million in sequence D funding earlier this yr, and presents a man-made intelligence (AI) and machine studying (ML)-driven platform for inventorying APIs and uncovered knowledge with OAS evaluation capabilities. 

One other vital competitor is NoName Safety, an API safety platform that identifies vulnerabilities and misconfigurations whereas offering safety groups with automated detection and response capabilities. NoName Safety most lately raised $135 million as a part of a sequence C funding spherical in December 2021. 

Nevertheless, Herrin argues that WIB’s versatile penetration testing method and lack of reliance on API visitors to identify threats is what differentiates it from these current instruments. 

“Each of those “unicorns” concentrate on a manufacturing traffic-based view, which is a helpful lens, however is inadequate to search out blind spots like zombie APIs (APIs uncovered however with no regular visitors) or APIS that don’t talk throughout anticipated visitors paths,” Herrin mentioned.